River

by Sarah Dellow

Early readers will love discovering the animals hidden in this book. Just turn each page to make the vibrant patterns come to life! Perfect for developing early perception skills, stimulating the imagination - and simply having fun!

Genres: Animals, Picture Books

16 pages, Board book

Published July 31, 2022

Reviews

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/now-yo...

RIVER is a simple board book that uses cut-outs to reveal patterns from different animals found around rivers. Each spread includes an animal with a cut-out and a page of a pattern. When children flip the page, they reveal the animal that contains part of that pattern.

What I loved: This is a fun concept for toddlers to explore on their own. The book only contains the names of the animals, so there is not much to read. However, it gives little ones an opportunity to read the book on their own and explore the patterns as well as well as the way that they come together in the different animals. The animals/insects included are themed around rivers, such as hippos, ducks, dragonflies, and mosquitoes. The simplicity of the book will work best for the youngest of readers.

Final verdict: RIVER is a simple but entertaining board book that plays with animals and patterns. This will work best for young toddlers who can enjoy it independently.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a river lover and live by a major North American River. This title is disjointed in its presentation as not all rivers have hippopotamuses.
While the illustrated boards are well illustrated with vibrant colors, I am disappointed in the overall title as it is choppy in the presentation of animals found in river habitats, geographic location is paramount to type of wildlife.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This board book is a 2.5 for me. While the colors and patterns are eye-catching and hard to resist staring at, the seven hidden animals in its pages may lead to some confusion as to what sorts of species live near or in rivers. As another reviewer pointed out, it is unlikely to find a hippopotamus living alongside a river in North America. Still, perhaps parents or caregivers could use that fact as a teachable point, discussing how rivers and their inhabitants vary depending on climate and location and that the intrusion of humans has affected the environment and Earth's living things. The patterns and the die-cut elements allow youngsters to make guesses about what animal is depicted. Since there is minimal text--simply a label for each animal--the book offers plenty of possibilities for discussion and imagination.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very young readers are introduced to riverside wildlife through vibrant colors and patterns and peek-through pages.

[Nanny B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cover says to "find the hidden animal", but most were not "hidden".
I did enjoy the die cut pages and the pattern pages for young toddlers.